Many types of vehicles have furniture positioned within their interiors. For instance, emergency vehicles, such as ambulances, will often include various styles of cabinets, closets, shelving, or the like for holding tools, equipment, and medical supplies. Generally, such furniture will be formed with pieces/panels joined at right angles. Such right-angle joints are not preferred for use in vehicles because they can be hazardous to individuals riding in the vehicles. For instance, if a vehicle makes a sharp or sudden turn, a person that falls into such a right-angle joint can be injured.
To overcome concerns inherent with furniture formed with right-angle joints, certain types of furniture will use curved corner pieces to join pieces/panels of the furniture. Nevertheless, it is difficult to fabricate furniture having curved corner pieces using present fabrication processes. Furthermore, it is difficult to maintain the aesthetic appearance of the corner pieces during/after fabrication and/or during/after installation of the furniture within the vehicle. For example, in ambulance-type vehicles, the interior furniture is often constructed from aluminum. As such, the components of the furniture are generally secured together via weld. Because welding processes will degrade/deteriorate/deform the exterior surface and finish/color of the components being welded, such components often need to be re-painted/re-finished after fabrication.
In the case of curved corner pieces, it is often preferred that such corner pieces include an anodized finished. However, such anodized finishes can be severely degraded after being welded. Similarly, when the furniture is installed within the vehicle, the anodized finish on the corner pieces can become scratched, dinged, or otherwise deformed. To make matters more complicated, once such curved corner pieces have been incorporated with the furniture during the installation process, it is difficult to remove/replace them. As such, there is a need for a curved corner assembly that provides for a radially-curved joint, while at the same time being operable to maintain its aesthetic appearance after fabrication of the furniture and after installation of the furniture within a vehicle.